Day 81 – Traveling the Curve

February 28, 2015

(This is part
of a 365 project during my 70th year where I write and illustrate a blog on
each day's gift.)

In the 1800’s, John Godfrey Saxe wrote a poem, “The Blind
Men and the Elephant.” Each blind man touched only a part of the elephant but
could not see the whole animal. Because of this, they knew only a part of the
truth but all their knowledge together added up to the whole truth. Consider
life as a sphere where we live our lives existing at one part of a circle,
seeing only our arc and unable to see the other side because it is curved. We
must travel and round the curves to understand the bigger picture.

There are always times in our lives where these curves
obstruct comprehension. Parents living with teenagers will confirm this. When I
taught middle/junior high school, my young students often saw their teachers as
aliens and their teachers saw them in one dimension during the most turbulent part
of their lives. We existed on different parts of the curve. It is rewarding
today for me to be connected with former students, many on Facebook, and to see
this relationship change from teacher/student to adult/adult. As we approach
one another along the curve, through time and experience, our understanding
comes full circle.

Shawn, a good friend, visited today. We first met in middle
school where I was a teacher and he was a student. This afternoon, I savored
conversation and friendship as we drank wine and ate cheese and bread, talking
and laughing—sharing plans for travel. Life’s circles symbolize fulfillment.